Red Rackham's Woman
by EmeraldGarmadon
Summary: AU: What if Red Rackham had a woman - a partner in crime, and...a lover? This is her story. Follow Rachel Mar's journey to avenge the death of the one man she ever truly cared about, a journey with one goal - the death of Captain Sir Francis Haddock. No ships other than Rackham/OC. Rated T for violence, and mentions of alcohol and kissing in flashbacks. Only Mar is mine. IT'S BACK!
1. That Night - Introduction

Red Rackham's Woman

An Adventures of Tintin AU

She adjusts his cape and hat.

She looks up into his eyes.

"Go...get 'em", she says,

nervously.

He sees her nervousness.

"What troubles you,

sweetheart?"

"Oh, Captain Rackham", she says,

"I'm just afraid,

if you leave tonight,

you won't

come back." He smiles.

"I'll come back", he says. "A pirate's word of honor."

They kiss.

He leaves.

And this time,

he never

comes

back.


	2. Coming After You

**(A/N: Sorrrrrryyy I took soooo long getting this up, but between computer issues and a weeklong vaycay to Tennessee...yeah. Anyway, enjoy!)**

Chapter one

_Finally._ Rachel Mar had been awaiting this news for months, years even. "Captain Sir Francis Haddock, commander of the ill-fated ship _H.M.S. Unicorn_, has been rescued and returned to London." She had been awaiting this man's return, watching his home for any sign of life ever since that night the _Unicorn _went down. Not because she cared three seeds for him, or actually wanted him back. On the contrary. She had been waiting for him to return so she could kill him. Mar wanted revenge on the one who was the reason the only man she ever loved was dead. And she was going to have it - armed, dangerous, and pirate to the core, Mar was ready to do whatever it took to avenge Red Rackham's death, even if she could swing for it. _I will have vengeance on the man who killed you, James._

James. He had told her long ago never to refer to him by that name, except in their own private moments, and likewise she forbid him to use the name Rachel. For two such as them, who lived their lives cloaked in anonymity and fearful power, it was simply too intimate, too personal, to be referred to by your first name.

_Rachel sees these sorts of men - weatherworn sailor's faces, fancy sea boots that demonstrate captain's rank, diamondlike glints in the eyes that hint of a lifestyle of piracy and adventure - all the time in Shark and Minnow tavern. Pirate captains. But something about this Rackham person is different, something attractive. Maybe it's all of that bright, bright red that draws her to him. Maybe it's the fact that he's __not __getting drunk and trashing her father's place. Maybe it was simply the aura he has about him - an aura of speckled light and shadow, __saying__ you can trust me with a hint of sarcasm in the voice. Whatever sets Red Rackham apart, she likes it._

Mar stole down to the harbor. She could see the ship docking, the ramp going down. The ship carrying Francis Haddock. She slipped her pistol out of her boot and cocked it. She took aim, pulled the trigger...and missed by a proverbial mile. Haddock literally jumped from the ramp to the street right as the bullet shot, breaking a hole in the ramp. _Bang!_ Heads turned her direction. All her piratical instincts kicked in at once, sending one singular message to her brain-

_Run._

Which is exactly what Mar did. She was red in the face and panting when she arrived, safe, in her room above Shark and Minnow, which was now her brother's after her father's death. He had agreed, finally, to let her stay - absolutely no questions asked. Ordinarily, she would be living at Rackham's port - which he had named just that, "Rackham's Port" - but now, she had a mission, and was required to be in London.

_Rachel finally works up the nerve to talk to Red Rackham. She asks him about his ship, his crew, his treasure, but most of all, his adventures. He answers her, then asks her about city life, her family, her suitors - she answers she's never had one - and whether __she__ has ever had adventures. "No" is the answer, of course. Rackham smiles at her. "Let me be your adventure.", he says sweetly. "Come on, let's keep talking." She pulls him into her room and he kicks the door shut behind him._

So. That did not work. Mar realized she would have to be a bit more careful, more subtle, more...what was that word...stealthy, like a ninja.

Whatever that meant.

**(A/N: Ha, ha, couldn't resist that last line. Yes, I know these are short, but it will get better, I promise. Pirate's word of honor, love! ;-)) **


	3. Coming After You Pt 2

Chapter Two

**(A/N: Well, I'm back, people! After giving this fic a lot of thought (I seriously thought of deleting it for a while there) I have decided to continue it, opting for a series-of-oneshots format instead of a more detailed story, as was the original plan. So, for each chapter, we get another look at Mar's chase after Haddock, but I make no guarantee that the chapters will be directly related to one another. This will allow me to give you exactly what I want to show you without having to create useless, boring, and probably grammatically lax "filler" chapters. I hope you enjoy this.)**

Mar sat on the windowsill of the tiny attic room at Shark and Minnow. The afternoon's incident had taught her something - she was terrible at strategy. She wasn't even sure how the 'lose-yourself-in-the-crowd-pull-the-trigger-and-r un' technique was supposed to work, but that wasn't it. Maybe she just had been overconfident, not considering the fact that she might indeed miss.

There was a knock at the door. "Rachel?" It was her brother. Quickly, Mar jumped off the windowsill, kicked off her boots and hat and shoved them under the bed, and pulled her nightdress over her clothes, throwing her pistol haphazardly on the ground and sitting down on the bed. "Yes, Peter? Come in!"

He did. "I just wanted to ask how you've been."

"I thought we agreed, no questions."

"I know, I just thought perhaps..." He looked down. "Rachel, what's this?", he said, picking the pistol up off the ground. "This looks like it's been shot quite recently." Peter looked concerned. "Rachel, is something-"

"Wrong? No questions."

"No. None of that. Rachel, you've been acting so odd. You disappeared four years ago, with no word at all, and then you simply show up, saying that you'd run off with a man and that he had died before you could marry. I think there must be more to it than that."

"I..." Mar hesitated for a split second. "I can't tell you, Peter."

"If you insist," he sighed, standing up. "But remember, Rachel. Mother and I are still here for you. We will always be your family. Always."

"Do you swear that?"

"What?"

"Look, Peter, I just need to hear this. Do you swear that, no matter what happens, no matter what you hear of me in days to come, you will always think of me as your sister?"

"Of course I swear." He leaned in and kissed her cheek the way her father had. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Despite what he had said, Mar couldn't help but wonder, as she reloaded her pistol and headed out into the night, what Peter would think of her if - and when - he discovered the truth.

_When she wakes, he's gone. Probably going back to the sea. She thinks about him, about the stories he told, and wondered if he had been drunk. Or if, by some stroke of chance, he was telling the truth. If that's true...that's a life she wants. She wants adventure, she wants danger, she wants a life where she could feel equal with a man. And...well, she isn't going to say she's in love with Red Rackham, but she wouldn't exactly dread the prospect of being with him either. Moments later, she's down at the harbor, searching the ships for signs of him. It appears he's gone, until she hears his voice - "Looking for somebody, young lady?"_

Mar knew where Haddock lived when in London. It was close to the port, in a generally busy spot that she was quite familiar with. But it was late at night, and so she trusted that few people would be out.

And anyway, few people would mess with someone who looked armed, as she was, in a dark alley.

She wasn't planning go after Haddock directly that night, not after the dock incident. But it was worth seeing, spying, making sure he was off his guard. Well, of course he shouldn't be, seeing as how someone had just tried to shoot him. And...well, maybe it was better that way, if he was scared of her. _I want him to fear me, to know my name._

_Life on the sea takes getting used to. It's far harder than living in the city ever was. And two things have happened to her. One, she is now entirely sure she is in love with Rackham, and is questioning whether he doesn't feel the same. Two, she doesn't quite feel included like she thought she would. She feels equal, yes. But still...being the only woman made her feel rather like an alien. _

Haddock was talking to someone, Mar could hear it through the window. "Someone's after me," he said. She almost grinned, lurking in the shadows. _Isn't that right._


	4. A Question of Revenge

**(A/N: Uh...hi...I'm back...! *Awkward silence* Let's just get on with the story shall we?)**

_Tonight. _It would be tonight. Mar was sure of that. She couldn't put it off any longer. She was going to find Haddock, find him in his own home. She would find him, and..._and make sure he knows who I am. He will know._

The sun was setting when she reached her destination. Her pistol was loaded, and she had a hood over her face, disguising her identity. She snuck up behind the back door of Haddock's house, and listened. He was talking to someone, explaining the story of his encounter on the _Unicorn. _"...and yet somehow", he was saying, "I don't think this is over...what in...sorry, Commodore, I think we're being watched..."

He opened the door, and Mar stepped out like an actor making a dramatic entrance, her pistol cocked. "Greetings, Captain Haddock."

He looked shocked. "Rackham?"

"No." She flipped her hood back. "Close."

"Good God, you're a woman!"

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Haddock."

"What do you want with me?"

"I am here to avenge the death of the man I loved."

"What?"

"Rackham. Red Rackham. I _am_ addressing Captain Sir Francis Haddock _formerly_ of the _Unicorn,_ am I not?"

"Yes, and neither am I ashamed to say it! Are you one of Rackham's pirates, then?"

"Yes, and neither am_ I_ ashamed to say it!"

_She is enjoying this, the life of a sailor. The men of the ship have accepted her as one of them, and she has learned to hold her head high among them. For nearly a year she's been gone, and today she wonders if her family has missed her. If she ever does return, what will she say to them? She has almost nothing to say now of that old life. All that is left now is the ship. All that is left is the sea._

The other man that Haddock had been talking to looked worriedly at the gun in Mar's hand. "Is that loaded?"

"And ready to fire."

"Put it down.", Haddock said.

"And what makes you think I will listen to you, Haddock? You have no control over me! I am Rachel Mar, and I am not one of yours!"

"No, you certainly are not! All of mine are dead, and you who sailed with Red Rackham have yourselves to thank!"

Mar's heart was pounding, her finger playing back and forth across the trigger. "And so you repaid like with like."

"Naturally. Now how about you put down that gun?"

"No!"

"Well, if you aren't going to kill me, then why are you here?"

"Don't think I'm not going to kill you, Haddock. I wanted you to know who's hand your death came by!"

"If you kill him," the other man said warningly, "you will be punished, rather harshly."

"You hold your tongue!", Mar snapped, shifting her position slightly. Haddock took that chance to spring to attack her. She whirled back around, pulling the trigger...and missed, blowing a hole through the wall behind them.

"Well?", Haddock taunted. "Is that all you have?"

"Yes, actually," she snapped. "I was convinced I wouldn't miss." _My own overconfidence will be my undoing. _

Holding onto her by both wrists, Haddock looked straight into Mar's eyes. "Let me ask you this, Red Rachel Rackham. Which is more worth avenging - one man, or one hundred?"

Emotions played across Mar's face - anger, confusion, unwillingness to admit he was right, even sadness. But there was really only one answer to that query - "it depends on who that one man was to you."


End file.
